Today’s JAMM Store Deal of the Day is Alarm Master for Windows Mobile.  You can register Alarm Master for half the regular price, so be sure to check it out.

You can download a trial and/or register your copy here.

The programs details and specifications are below:

Alarm Master is a convenient and powerful utility that helps managing personal alarms and reminder on your Windows Mobile Classic/Professional device. Alarm Master has a lot of unique features: recurrence patterns like ‘First monday’/'Last weekend day’, Desktop Companion, Today-plugin, icon selection, smart snooze intervals and more. If you need a reminder solution for a variety of purposes from daily alarm-clock to parents’ calls and monthly bills, this flexible tool is an ideal solution for you. Features: COMPREHENSIVE ALARM SUPPORT DESKTOP COMPANION FLEXIBLE SOUND AND PLAYBACK CONFIGURATION TODAY PLUGIN & SLIDING PANEL PLUGIN ICON SELECTION Early Dismiss Alarm Preview Different alarm layouts: automatic, full-screen and etc. Stop/Resume All Alarms Quick View/Edit of Alarm Note Headers History Automatic Unlock Auto-snooze Limitation Counter Sorting and Filtering Automatic deletion of outdated alarms … and many other features!

Minimum Requirements: Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC Windows Mobile 6 Classic/Professional Windows Mobile 6.1 Classic/Professional Windows Mobile 6.5 Classic/Professional Display Dimensions 240×240, 240×320, 240×400, 320×240, 320×320, 400×240, 480×480, 480×640, 480×800, 640×480, 800×480 Operating System WM5, WM6, WM6.1, WM6.5

Last week, I received an email from our friends at Backflip Studios.  These are the wizards behind some of my favorite iOS games, such as: Ragdoll Blaster, Paper Toss, Harbor Havoc, and plenty of others.  They have long been among my favorite game developers, so I was pretty excited to see what their latest offering, Tunnel Shoot, had to offer.  The folks at Backflip were kind enough to send a copy of the game for review, and I immediately downloaded it from the iTunes App Store.

The premise of this one, as with so many other games, sounds simple.  Just pilot your ship down the tunnel, and try not to get killed.  Like I said, that sounds pretty easy.  But watch out because there are plenty of obstacles in your path, including barriers, pipes, and plenty of enemies.

The gameplay in this one started out extremely fast paced and moved on from there.  You will soon find yourself screaming through the tunnel, and using all sides of the tube to avoid the obstacles (not to mention your laser which can be used to destroy the enemies).  The controls are also easy and intuitive.  Just tilt your device to steer (tap the screen to fire).  As you might expect, the further you go, the more difficult the game will become, with the number of enemies on the screen multiplying significantly. 

That being said, the increase in the number of enemies is really the only change in the difficulty of the game.  It would be nice if there was some kind of checkpoint, were you could purchase power ups, or even levels which would add a break in the game play and change in scenery.  These are all ideas which would significantly improve the game, and which I hope we will see in future versions.  Their absence, however, really did not detract from the basic game.

You will, however, have two upgrades, which are earned by piloting your craft without taking any hits.  First is the score multiplier, which is pretty self explanatory.  Second are bombs.  As you move through the game, you can earn bombs.  when you get into a tight jam, just drop a bomb.  It will bounce its way down the tube ahead of you, vaporizing everything in its path.

One other thing I noticed.  I have played these kinds of tunnel games before, and one of the drawbacks I have found is the ease with which you can become disoriented.  Spinning around all side of the tunnel can make it extremely easy to lose track of where you are and where you need to be.  Tunnel Shoot does a fantastic job of combating this problem by color coding different sections of the tunnel.  This small detail significantly improved my ability to stay oriented in the game.

The other really nice thing that Backflip has done with this one is making it a universal app.  This is the first of their games which is available across the entire spectrum of iOS devices for a single low price (it has even been optimized for iOS4).  This is a great option, which means you can play it on all of your iOS devices after purchasing the app only once.  Hopefully, Backflip will continue to upgrade their games in order to make more of them universal (hint, hint, I am dying to play Ragdoll Blaster 2 and Harbor Havoc on the iPad).

The game gives you two incentives to keep coming back for more.  First, you can try to beat your own high scores.  If you really impress yourself, you can even post your scores on Twitter or Facebook.  You can even check out the online Leaderboard in the Plus+ network, and compare your scores with players from around the world. 

Additionally, the game is chock full of awards, which can be earned by performing a variety of in-game feats of strength.

This was a fantastic game, which I really thought lived up the Backflip Studios name.  It is fast paced, and extremely addictive.  I did think upgrades and a change in scenery with different tunnels or levels would be nice; but they were not necessary in order to really enjoy the basic gameplay. 

Tunnel Shoot is available from Backflip Studios (along with Team Phobic) for only $0.99.  But don’t wait, because that low introductory price will not last forever.

Question of the Day:  Isn’t it “form follows function”?

As an artist one design consideration I always stress to students is that form needs to follow function.  If form supersedes function, while likely aesthetically pleasing, the product is less useful.  If a product is less useful than it is intended to be for the sake of being visually pleasing, it’s a disservice to the end user or audience.

In today’s world of mass consumerism where the decisive line often falls towards form, I’m afraid we are going to see this mistake made more and more often.  What’s really sad about this is that the end user suffers because of a product of lesser functionality.

What’s your experience in this area?  Hit the comments and share your thoughts with us!

Today’s JAMM Store Deal of the Day is Handy Weather for Windows Mobile.  You can register Handy Weather for half the regular price, so be sure to check it out.

You can download a trial and/or register your copy here.

The programs details and specifications are below:

Handy Weather for Windows Mobile provides one-click access to always accurate and up-to-date weather forecasts. With the latest weather news at your fingertips, you will know which days you can leave the umbrella at home. Whether it be rain, sleet or snow, Handy Weather for Windows Mobile has you covered. You will wonder how you ever got by without it!
New specially optimized version with finger-tip control is now available. No more complicated menus to scroll through to know the weather. Just install Handy Weather and be prepared for anything Mother Nature has in store!

Features:

• Extended weather report:
• * Accurate forecasts are provided by Intellicast, the worlds leading weather forecast provider
• * 5-day high/low temperature graph for quick weather check
• * Detailed daily and morning/day/evening/night forecasts
• * Current conditions
• * Hour by hour weather forecast updates
• * Complete weather details (temperature, wind, pressure, humidity, UV index)
• World-wide weather report:
• * Weather news and forecast for over 40,000 cities world-wide
• * Detailed weather forecasts for your personal city list
• * Add a city according to your position – search the nearest city by GPS
• Global weather maps :
• * Pan and zoom with real-time weather maps
• * The Temperature map presents the selected zone weather chart in shades of blue, yellow and green
• * The Pressure map displays pressure space and depression areas
• * Satellite image of various parts of the world
• * Full-screen mode
• * Move the map with your finger
• Today Plug-In:
• * Two predefined layouts
• * Detailed daily forecasts hour-by-hour or 5-days forecast
• * Quickly update forecasts directly from the Today screen
• Additional tools :
• * Automatic updates at certain intervals (2, 4, 8, 12 or 24 hours) or at a preset time. Separate adjustments for roaming
• * Multilingual interface: Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Spanish and Swedish
• * Variety of supported Internet connections: GPRS, Wi-Fi or using Desktop computer
• * Over-the-air programs updates
• * Customizable units for temperature, wind speed and pressure

Minimum Requirements:

• Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC, Windows Mobile 6/6.1 Classic and Professional

Display Dimensions
240×240, 240×320, 240×400, 320×240, 320×320, 400×240, 480×480, 480×640, 480×800, 640×480, 800×480
Operating System
WM5, WM6, WM6.1, WM6.5

Do you want to program for the iPhone?  Don’t have a Mac, don’t know Objective C?  Aww…too bad….until now.  Zimusoft, a simulation company has recently released the DragonFire SDK which is compatible with Visual Studio or even Visual Studio Express using C++.  Starting at $50 for the starter kit, you’ll get the Windows iPhone SDK, an iPhone simulator for testing, and the ability to step up to DragonFireSDK Ultimate ($100) for only $50 more.  In the Ultimate edition, you’ll get everything the starter kit has in addition to 10 test builds as well as 1 app store build.  An enterprise edition which features “…database support as well as more drag-and-drop functionality…said Zimusoft CEO David Edwards” (SD Times Issue No. 248) is slated for release later this fall.  DragonFireSDK was designed for the building of games although it will do more than just that.

Distribution is simple and can be done via 2 paths.  You can go with the standard method of Apple’s app store in which your completed program would be distributed via the iPhone Developer Program.  If it’ is a free app, you’ll also have the choice to use Zimusoft to publish your app via Apple’s app store.

Watch the video to find out more or even take a look at the code behind some of the sample apps to see exactly how easy DragonFireSDK can be.